Oct 15, 2010

Here’s an item I filed Thursday:
O Heroes is the name of a community service program for Oregon athletes, and Chad Peppars more than lived up to the billing Tuesday.
Peppars, a senior cornerback on the Oregon football team, spent time Tuesday afternoon helping raise money for United Way of Lane County. Later that day, the Los Angeles native attended to a woman who fell near his apartment building, stanching the bleeding of a cut to her head while waiting for paramedics to arrive. Read more …

Sep 21, 2010

Here’s a notes package I filed Monday:
Oregon defensive backs coach John Neal said he wants to expand his rotation in the secondary, to the extent that the Ducks’ leading tackler didn’t make it off the bench in the first quarter against Portland State on Saturday.
Sophomore free safety John Boyett, who led the Ducks in tackles last season and through two games this fall, finally took the field for the Viks’ first play of the second quarter. Read more …

Sep 17, 2010

Here’s a feature Adam Jude filed for today’s editions:
The bills, and the frustration, started to mount two years ago, and for awhile Chad Peppars considered leaving the Oregon football team.
At the time, it seemed like the easiest thing to do. After failing two classes, he had lost his scholarship and his place on the depth chart. Read more …

Sep 2, 2010

Here’s a story filed by Adam Jude for today:
Oregon’s biggest question mark on defense entering fall camp was who would start at the second cornerback spot.
No fewer than seven players emerged as a potential candidate there at one point or another. In trying to win the job, and learn the nuances of the position, they no doubt had questions of their own. Read more …

Aug 20, 2010

Here’s a story I filed Thursday:
Somewhere there exists a depth chart that Oregon secondary coach John Neal devised for his cornerbacks this month.
Based on practices through nearly two weeks of fall camp, that list is just about moot. Talmadge Jackson III has one starting spot locked up, to be certain. But the other job? Read more …

Aug 19, 2010

The Ducks held their 13th fall practice this afternoon, in full pads on the grass fields.
The quarterbacks: Sophomore Darron Thomas began the day with the first team and then rotated with Nate Costa, as has been the case for two weeks now. The most compelling part of the day was right at the end, in a couple of game-management tests for the two. Read more …

Aug 13, 2010

The Ducks were in full pads this afternoon for the first time this fall, and also held the first scored competition day of the fall. The defense led 119-118 entering the final play, a pass breakup that Chip Kelly said would require replay review to properly score.
The quarterbacks: Senior Nate Costa started the afternoon with the No. Read more …

Aug 12, 2010

The Ducks were on the grass practice fields for a workout this afternoon in shells, wrapping up the NCAA-mandated acclimation period prior to donning full pads for the first time Friday.
The quarterbacks: The first rep went to Darron Thomas, as he continues to trade off that designation with Nate Costa. Thomas got most of the work with the ones but Costa was with them for the final 20 minutes or so. Read more …

May 8, 2010

DEFENSIVE BACKSAPRIL STANDOUTS: More of a defensive end in high school (when he wasn’t playing running back), Eddie Pleasant started his Oregon career at linebacker, and this spring he moved back yet another level, taking over for the departed T.J. Ward at rover. There were legitimate concerns prior to the spring about Pleasant’s ability to handle covering more of the field, but according to coaches the transition was made with unexpected efficiency. Read more …

Apr 29, 2010

Here’s a story I filed Wednesday:
Walter Thurmond III and T.J. Ward having been drafted by NFL teams last week, the core of the “D-Boyz” in the Oregon secondary has moved on to the professional ranks. A new generation of defensive backs needs to emerge for the Ducks.
The one true veteran of the group, senior cornerback Talmadge Jackson III, is sitting out contact drills this spring after offseason shoulder surgery. Read more …

Apr 19, 2010

Today’s practice, involving 100-some players and a full coaching staff, as assessed through one pair of eyes that couldn’t possibly take in everything that went on.THE HEADLINES: The most entertaining portion of today’s practice in the Moshofsky Center was a “clutch” scenario late in the workout. The first team was given a one-point lead needing to kill the final four minutes of game clock, but when they couldn’t it turned into a two-minute comeback drill for the twos. Read more …

Apr 16, 2010

Today’s practice, involving 100-some players and a full coaching staff, as assessed through one pair of eyes that couldn’t possibly take in everything that went on.THE HEADLINES: After being outplayed a bit in Wednesday’s scrimmage, the Oregon offense redeemed itself today as the Ducks resumed practice. There were a lot of completions in the passing game from both Nate Costa and Darron Thomas, and running back LaMichael James was typically explosive. Read more …

Apr 5, 2010

Today’s practice, involving 100-some players and a full coaching staff, as assessed through one pair of eyes that couldn’t possibly take in everything that went on.THE HEADLINES: The Ducks were back in pads inside the Moshofsky Center this morning, with the defense decked out in black jerseys after winning Saturday’s competition periods. Still not a lot of hitting; that will likely be reserved for the scrimmages that will conclude each of the final four weeks of spring drills. Read more …

Apr 1, 2010

Today’s practice, involving 100-some players and a full coaching staff, as assessed through one pair of eyes that couldn’t possibly take in everything that went on.THE HEADLINES: Day two of spring drills was again a helmets-only workout in the Moshofsky Center. Darron Thomas took the majority of the reps at quarterback with the No. 1 offense, after Nate Costa did so Tuesday. Read more …

Dec 20, 2009

The Ducks were inside the Moshofsky Center this morning for a practice in helmets, like a usual Thursday, as this was the fourth day of a five-day set of workouts.
Unlike a usual week, however, Oregon will be in shells on Monday and back in the Mo, rather than with no pads in Autzen Stadium, which was their Friday routine during the regular season. Read more …

Dec 19, 2009

The Ducks were inside the Moshofsky Center for practice in full pads this morning.
Today’s practice was like a typical Wednesday workout, and it looked just like any midweek practice the Ducks had during the regular season. Pretty intense practice, with quite a bit of special teams work.
I spent a lot of time on the defensive end of the field, where there weren’t as many turnovers forced as in the last couple of days. Read more …

About …

Ryan Thorburn covers Oregon football for The Register-Guard. Thorburn came to Eugene from Boulder, where he covered the Denver Broncos (2000-'07) and Colorado athletic department (2007-'13) for the Daily Camera. In 2013, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for beat writing. Follow Ryan on Twitter @rgduckfootball.

About …

Steve Mims covers Oregon football, men's basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. He has been a sportswriter at the paper since 1999 and covered high school sports while also reporting on Oregon football in the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl as well as men's basketball during their Elite 8 run in 2007 and trip to the Sweet 16 in 2013.